TX - Marisela Botello, 23, Dallas (from Seattle), 5 Oct 2020 - Map, Media, Timelines *NO DISCUSSION*

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FEB 24, 2023

Dallas detective allegedly deleted videos from murder case, hundreds of cases now under review​

[...]

According to Marano's attorneys, some evidence wasn't turned over to them and other videos were deleted.

"We have an officer we went to several times, different prosecutors, and asked ‘are these all of the files?’ and the answer was yes. That was her answer. Reality was no, and far from it," said Creuzot.

The DA's office is reviewing all cases connected to detective Christine Ramirez.

Dallas police have opened an Internal Affairs investigation into Ramirez.

In a court filing, Marano's attorneys have asked a judge to toss the case writing, "Whether it is gross negligence or intentional acts by the Dallas Police Department, the dismissal of the indictment with prejudice is the proper remedy."

[...]
 
MAR 8, 2023

Video files missing from the Dallas Police Department could jeopardize criminal convictions​

[...]

A judge's decision to delay the murder trial of a woman accused of killing Marisela Botello turned a spotlight on a problem inside the Dallas Police Department.

Digital files containing mostly videos and photos related to the case were not turned over to the defense as required by the court.

That's because those files were missing along with as many as 52,000 others related to other criminal cases.

[...]

"This evidence that's been lost will be a relevant form of cross examination for the detectives, for a good defense attorney to attack the credibility of the investigation," Shook said.

There's concern that the missing files could cause the recent convictions of violent criminals to be overturned.

[...]
 
MAR 21, 2023

Dallas DA trying to get judge removed from murder case tied to missing Dallas Police files​

[...]

In a 28-page motion, the Dallas County District Attorney's office accuses State District Court Judge Amber Givens of a bias against them over the latest missing file snafu at the Dallas Police Department.

The DA's office wants Judge Givens to be recused from an upcoming murder trial. It was during pre-trial motions when it was discovered that a Dallas Police detective didn't properly file reports and body camera video in the arrest of Nina Tamar Marano in the Dallas Police Department's filing system.

[...]

Givens has delayed the [Marano] trial until next week to give Dallas Police a chance to come up with the missing evidence, otherwise there is a threat she will dismiss the case.

The DA's office says Givens has made it impossible for them to get a fair hearing because they feel the judge in blaming prosecutors for the Police Department's mistake. But defense attorney Heath Harris wants Givens to stay.

[...]

An outside judge will be assigned to hear the DA's motion to have Givens replaced.
 
MAR 28, 2023

Hearing Held Over Whether to Toss Dallas Judge from High-Profile Murder Case​

In a Dallas County courtroom Tuesday, in front of an out-of-town judge, attorneys in the murder trial of 23-year-old Marisela Botello debated whether Judge Amber Givens should be tossed from the case after the prosecution claimed she displayed bias against them.

[...]

Throughout it, the state said Givens showed bias against the prosecutor, challenging her professionalism.

“To quote her, she said she was lackadaisical when it came to discovery in this case. Even when we showed her time and time again, that ever since the case got filed, we’ve been asking DPD for phone dumps, for videos, for things like that, ever since they filed the case we weren’t getting very much of a response,” said Jennifer Balido, chief of the Appellate Division of the Dallas County District Attorney's Office.

The defense argued they believe Givens expressed frustration rather than bias.

[...]

Judge Jim Pruitt of Rockwall will rule whether to recuse Givens in the case. He said he’ll announce his decision Friday.
 
MAR 31, 2023
www.dallasnews.com

Judge who criticized Dallas County prosecutors over missing evidence taken off murder case

The murder case has served as a flashpoint for Dallas police's evidence storage issues, as a lead detective failed to turn over hundreds of pieces of evidence...
www.dallasnews.com
Judge who criticized Dallas County prosecutors over missing evidence taken off murder case

A visiting judge granted prosecutors’ request to recuse District Judge Amber Givens from a murder case in which they accused her of being biased.

[...]
 
APR 7, 2023

Dallas District Attorney Speaks About Dallas PD Evidence Issues​

[...]

Harris is seeking dismissal of murder charges against Nina Marano for the 2020 murder of Marisela Botello.

Prosecutors won removal of Judge Amber Givens in that case for critical remarks the judge made about prosecutors and the evidence. But Harris said the entire case should be dropped over the evidence problems.

“Yea the case should be dismissed, not because that’s what we want but because we believe that’s what the law dictates,” Harris

Harris said police body cam video from a house where the murder occurred has been lost. Missing video also included interviews with witnesses, he said.

“It’s gone. It’s deleted. We can’t get it back,” Harris said.

A new judge has been appointed to pick up that case and consider the evidence and motion to dismiss the case.

[...]
 
AUG 17, 2023

Dallas police finish audit of 450 homicides for deleted evidence; won’t release review yet​

Dallas police have completed their audit into about 450 homicide cases to look for missing or deleted evidence, but won’t release the findings yet.

[...]

Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot has said he asked Dallas police in February to review all homicide cases filed with his office, prioritizing those with upcoming trials, after it was revealed in court that evidence was missing or deleted in the high-profile murder case against Nina Marano and after The News brought to light other police storage problems.

The trial for Marano, one of three defendants in the killing of Seattle woman Marisela Botello Valadez in Dallas in 2020, was one of the first major signs of DPD’s issues with evidence preservation. The trial has been delayed repeatedly after the lead Dallas detective failed to give lawyers hundreds of videos in the case.

[...]

Police officials have repeatedly insisted that much of the deleted evidence was either insignificant or could be supplemented by other records. But defense attorneys have raised alarms that police are not the arbiter of whether the lost information could have impacted a case’s outcome.

[...]
 
DEC 4, 2023

Jury selection begins in murder trial of 23-year-old a woman who disappeared while visiting Dallas​

Jury selection is underway Monday in the murder trial of Marisela Botello, a 23-year-old Seattle woman who went missing in October 2020 while visiting Dallas.

The trial for Lisa Dykes, who is one of three people accused of killing Botello, is scheduled to begin on Tuesday. A live stream of the trial is expected to be carried online.

[...]

Dykes's trial was originally expected to begin in January 2023 but was delayed after Judge Amber Givens was recused after the prosecution claimed she displayed bias toward them.

The trials for Marano and Beltran are scheduled for Feb. 20, 2024, and April 15, 2024, respectively.
 
DEC 5, 2023

Marisela Botello murder: Trial underway in Seattle woman's Dallas killing​

[...]

"You’ll hear how Lisa Dykes in the early morning hours of Oct. 5 entered that room, Charles Beltran’s bedroom, got on top of Botello Valdez and stabbed her," Pittman said.

Prosecutors said Beltran claimed he and Botello were asleep when Dykes came in and stabbed Botello to death.

Beltran told Dykes to "take care of this."

[...]

"Charles Beltran cannot be trusted and there is not evidence to corroborate what he says," Harris said.

[...]

Ortiz testified that they were out earlier on the night of Oct. 4, but he got drunk and the two went back to his Dallas apartment. That’s the last time he saw her.

"The reason we split up is because I had vomit on my shirt because I was drunk. And we went to my apartment, and I didn’t have the keys to get in," he said. "She got an Uber, went to Deep Ellum and I literally slept out on my balcony."

Ortiz said the next morning when she didn’t return to his apartment, he tried calling and texting her. But she never responded. He called Dallas police to report her missing.

[...]
 
DEC 5, 2023

WATCH LIVE: Trial begins for woman accused of murder in the death of Marisela Botello​

[...]

Botello’s mother, Ernestina Valadez Frutos was the first to take the stand Tuesday morning.

Valadez Frutos told the jury it was out of character for Botello to not update her on her whereabouts. The family, she said, clung to hope for months.

“When I received the DNA results was when I realized my daughter was no longer alive,” Valadez Frutos said. “I got a call. They told me they found remains in a trash bag.”

[...]

“Lisa Dykes could provide him with a life he had never lived before. She started taking him to fancy dinners,” Pittman said. “She would provide for him, and what he provided for her would be some type of companionship.”

Dykes supported Beltran’s rap career. Marano would later move in with Dykes and Beltran.

“Just months after the death of Nina’s husband, Lisa Dykes and Nina Marano get married. They understood, though, that Charles Beltran would be part of this relationship,” Pittman said.

[...]

Investigators said mobile phone records placed Botello at the same home as Dykes, an affidavit stated. Phone records also showed Dykes and Marano traveling south of Dallas, near Hutchins, to a densely wooded area near a concrete plant.

When officials searched their residence, they found streaks of brown and red on the carpet, which had been cleaned. An analysis of DNA found on one of the carpets matched Botello's blood, according to the affidavit.

[...]
 
DEC 5, 2023

Woman set to stand trial for murder, accused of killing Seattle woman who went missing in Dallas​

[...]

A 12-person jury and two alternates — eight men and six women — who will decide Dykes’ fate were empaneled Monday inside the Dallas County courthouse near downtown Dallas.

[...]

“She completely fell off the face of the Earth,” relative Dennesly Castillo said from the witness stand. Botello’s father and brother were seated in the courtroom gallery throughout testimony. Castillo and Botello’s father went to Dallas shortly after her disappearance to look for her; they returned with her abandoned suitcase full of clothes. ...

[...]

According to a coworker, Dykes’ behavior seemed erratic after an FBI agent called her. She later abruptly resigned from the personal injury law firm where she worked

The coworker, Olivia Martinez, described Dykes as commanding and convincing, saying, “she could persuade anyone to do anything.” Dykes shared the dynamics of her personal life with Martinez.

[...]

A person setting up traps for feral cats stumbled upon the bones and called authorities. Crime scene photos and videos showed bones in a muddy field just off the road. A skull and femur bone jutted out from the soil. A forensic anthropologist testified that the bones showed no signs of trauma but did appear to be weathered from the elements and scavenged by animals.

[...]
 
DEC 6, 2023

Day 2 of Trial continues for woman accused of murder in the death of Marisela Botello​

[...]

On day two of the trial, Kathy DeLeon was the first witness to testify. DeLeon was Dykes hairdresser and confidant.

“There were a lot of stories, a lot of intimate stories Lisa told me about,” DeLeon said.

DeLeon said her client slowly became someone she did not recognize.

[...]

Prosecutors also called in Dakston Stevens, a friend of Beltran. Stevens said he was familiar with the relationship between Beltran and Dykes and a love triangle with Marano.

[...]

On Wednesday, pictures of Dykes home and Beltran’s bedroom were shown to the jury.

The jury also viewed pictures of a hair tie, blue press-on nails, and the black trash bag where human remains were found in a field in Wilmer.

[...]
 
DEC 7, 2023

Marisela Botello murder trial: Suspect, girlfriend knelt in front of Grim Reaper statue in home, witness says​

[...]

P_ALEX-DPD-SEATTLE-MISSING-WOMAN-530P_00.00.16.28.jpg



The jury was shown surveillance video of Botello entering a Dallas-area 7-Eleven with Charles Beltran at around 1:20 a.m. on Oct. 5, 2020, just hours before prosecutors argue Dykes killed Botello in a jealous rage.

Dallas police detectives explained how they traced the victim's final movements using a license read to get a hit on Beltran's ID.

"We pulled the license plate picture of Mr. Beltran and it matched the person who walked with Marisela to that 7-Eleven that morning," said Det. Stephen Prince, with the Dallas Police Department.

[...]

In court Thursday, it was revealed that Beltran was dating another woman at the time Botello disappeared from Deep Ellum.

That woman, whose identity was not disclosed in court, testified she was supposed to meet up with Beltran at 2 a.m. when she got off work.

[...]

Marano owned a home in Pennsylvania prior to moving in with Dykes and Beltran in Texas.

Her next door neighbor, a real estate agent, testified that days after Botello was killed, Marano called her in a panic about the Pennsylvania home.

"She just said that it had to be listed right away. It seemed urgent," said Jamie Scarpa.

[...]

On March 25, the women were arrested in Florida.

"Door opened up, she came out, she was cooperative," Orange County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Scott Ames said.

Dykes’ younger brother testified that, for many years, she helped him out financially, but in March 2021, she called him asking for money, hours before her arrest.

"Later on in the day, the police showed up and told us what was going on," Jimmy Dykes recalled. "All my years of life, I would never dream such a thing could transpire."

[...]
 
Last edited:
DEC 7, 2023

Day 3: ‘Anonymous' girlfriend testifies in Marisela Botello murder trial​

[...]

One of Beltran's girlfriends, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear, was also called up as a witness on Thursday.

She told the court she met Beltran at a club and was dating him for several months. According to the woman, they had plans to meet on the night of Oct. 4. She said she did not hear from Beltran until the next day.

[...]

The pair traveled to New Orleans in a white SUV. However, she said they only spent one night there. The woman said Beltran stepped away to answer a call however, noticed his demeanor changed.

“I asked him what’s going on,” the woman said. “He just said I need you to go back to Dallas.”

The woman was instructed to drive back in the SUV and drop it off outside the Mesquite home. She said she later made her way back to Louisiana to pick up Beltran.

Beltran and the woman would drive to Pennsylvania.

“I asked him again. I'm like, ‘Hey what’s going on’. He kind of got mad,” the woman said. “He raised his voice at me. He had never done that. He said, ‘Stop questioning me’.”

[...]

Testimony continued Thursday afternoon from a former roommate of Dykes and additional investigators on the case.
 

Marisela Botello murder trial: Day 4 Livestream | FOX 4​

 
DEC 8, 2023

Marisela Botello murder trial: Suspect Lisa Dykes' boyfriend describes stabbing​

[...]

Beltran said he had sex with Botello and fell asleep.

"I wake up to her screaming saying help me, help me," Beltran said. "I guess from all the movement in the bed I wake up and see Lisa on top of her."

[PROSECUTOR: "What is she doing?"]

"She's with a knife coming down like this," he said while making a stabbing motion.

Beltran said he tried to push Dykes off of Botello, but both rolled off the bed and continued to struggle.

"I grab Lisa and pin her to the wall and say what the f...what the f are you doing?" Beltran recalled.

He shoved Dykes, who a previous witness described as his "sugar mama" and main source of income.

"I told you not to bring any more girls over here. Why are you disrespecting us," he says Dykes replied.

[...]

We learned this afternoon that the murder charge has been dropped against Beltran and Nina Marano.
 
DEC 8, 2023

Marisela Botello Murder Trial: Lisa Dykes' boyfriend, Charles Beltran, describes deadly stabbing​

 
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